Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG) and Gloucester Pharmaceuticals
Inc., a privately held pharmaceutical company, announced a definitive
merger agreement under which Celgene Corporation will acquire Gloucester
Pharmaceuticals. Celgene says the acquisition will continue to advance
its leadership position in the development of disease-altering therapies
through innovative approaches for patients with rare and debilitating
blood cancers. Gloucester Pharmaceuticals develops new therapies that
address the unmet medical needs in the treatment of cancer, including cutaneous
T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), peripheral
T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) and other hematological malignancies.
ISTODAX® (romidepsin) was approved in November 2009, by the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of CTCL in
patients who have received at least one prior systemic therapy.
Additionally, ISTODAX has received both orphan drug designation for the
treatment of non-Hodgkin’s T-cell lymphomas, which includes CTCL and
PTCL, and Fast Track status in PTCL from the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA). The European Agency for the Evaluation of
Medicinal Products (EMEA) has granted orphan status designation for
ISTODAX for the treatment of both CTCL and PTCL. Accrual of the ISTODAX
registration SPA Trial for peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) is expected
to be completed early next year.
“We are thrilled with this transaction because Celgene’s global
leadership in the development and commercialization of innovative
treatments for hematologic diseases makes them ideally suited to bring
the clinical benefits of ISTODAX to patients with CTCL,” said Alan
Colowick, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Gloucester Pharmaceuticals.